There are no extra pieces in the universe...
Each one of us is here for a reason.
We all have a special place to fill.
A unique place...where only we fit.
In our own individual way, we are all part of Life's Jigsaw Puzzle.
(Author Unknown)

Friday, August 15, 2008

What will I do now?

Well, we have reached another milestone. After 20 years I am finally through taking kids to daycare. I'm not sure I will even know how to get to work straight from my house!

I have always worked. I went back to work when Sean was 8 weeks old but he got sick and was hospitalized so I had to quit my job. When he was 9 months old I had to go back to work. That's when I got the job that I have now. Through the years we have had many daycare providers. We have had 6 individual providers, one daycare facility, and a before & after school program through the school district. Since 2002 both kids were in the before & after school program. It is called SCOPE (Serving Children Of Parents Employed). Sean has gone to the same school since he was 5 years old. He started school when he was 3 but went to a different school for the first 2 years. The school he goes to now is a K-5 school for regular education and a 3-21 school for special education students. Because of Sean's needs he would go to this school no matter where we lived but it was also our home school for Clayton so they both went to the same school for 4 years. They both went to the before & after school program - they have one program for both regular ed. & special needs. The special needs program is only at that school. I always had to take them because there are no buses for this program. Of course, I always had to take them to the other daycares too. Until Clayton was 4 they went to different daycares so we had to leave very early to get everybody where they were going. Then, after work I would begin my trek to collect everyone from daycare. Even though we lived in town, it took me longer to get home than people who lived out of town! I know there are lots of people out there who do this but I never thought I would be doing it 20 years later! Along with giving baths, brushing teeth, changing diapers, etc. But, what else would I have to do?

Sean can still go to school until May 2010. That is when he will "graduate". We no longer have to use daycare now because Carl recently retired and he is going on full-time daddy duty. FYI-We did not win the Lotto - Carl is 18 years older than me. He always had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. so he was never able to help during the morning rush to get ready. Now that he is home, guess who's getting Sean ready now? Yep, Carl. It is so nice. I can actually sleep in - at least until 5:30! When I don't have to take Sean to daycare I can probably sleep until 6:00. Oh my. Of course, I won't really be sleeping - Sean usually likes to wake up about 4:00 - but at least I can still lay in bed and maybe, just maybe, Sean will fall back asleep, too!

Sean is going to be riding the bus to school now. It will pick him up right at our house. He rode it when he was very small. He liked it then and hopefully will like it now. He always says "Bus" when he sees one so I've been telling him he will be riding one again. He used to get good behavior awards because he always slept. I hope it goes as well this time around.

So, this is another transition that moves us closer to the big transition - when Sean will no longer be in school. We are looking into a couple of options and hopefully can find something that will work for everyone. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy my peaceful, short ride to work.